I'm Sorry Blog

Dear Blog,

I'm sorry I've neglected you for over a month... quickly going on two. I did not mean to. I did warn everyone that this would happen though.

I'm sorry that I haven't been better about writing. It's probably for the best that I didn't blog too much because I'm not quite sure if everything I would have to say would be very nice.

I'm sorry that I haven't been keeping track of events and fun things that have happened this semester. Maybe by Thanksgiving I'll have enough time to write something on here that is meaningful.

I'm sorry I'm been too cranky, grumpy, and stressed out to write. I have now accepted my life for the way it is this school year, and I'm doing much better thanks to that. "Grin and bare it" is the best motto ever.

Until next time!

~Robin

Days 25-30: The Conclusion to My 30 Day Challenge

Better late than never... Here's the conclusion to my 30 Day Blog Challenge!

Day 25: Something You Miss

Not something, but someones. I miss Susan, Nikki, Taylor, Amy, Katie, and Kristin…and a few other people. These people kept me sane, and now they are all far away. No Good, no good at all.

Day 26: Something You Are Afraid Of

Easy… bugs. I’m deathly afraid of any sort of creepy crawly thing… ESPECIALLY SPIDERS! I hate spiders… always have and always will. My fear of spiders just became exponentially greater when I was bit by one my senior year of high school. No fun there! I’m also not a fan of anything that stings, bites, flies, or slithers (so no snakes)!

Day 27: Pet Peeves

Okay, so I’m the first to admit that I have a ton of pet peeves and a lot of things piss me off. So, I’ll briefly highlight only a fraction of my pet peeves.

-People that drive without their headlights on, especially when it is getting dark or there is bad weather.

-Slow walkers. Also, people that walk like 4 or 5 people wide so that you can’t walk around them, or if you are coming from the other direction, they run you off the sidewalk.

-Bad drivers.

-Disrespectful people or rude people in general.

-Line cutters: No buts, no cuts.

-People that don’t do their job. It’s just aggravating, especially if someone else has to pick up the slack.

-Two-faced people. Ughhh hate it.

-To go along with the above, I hate when people just don’t say what they are thinking or when they lie. I hate liars too. If you don’t like someone, say you don’t like them. Don’t go behind their backs and gossip or say mean things about them. The world would be a much better place if people just come out and say what is on their mind.

-Stupid People. I hate stupid people. That’s probably a good place to stop because I could go on and on!

Day 28: Something You’re Proud Of

I’m proud of a lot of things. I have accomplished a lot over that past few years. Probably the most recent thing I’m proud of is graduating from JMU with Honors! I put in a lot of time doing homework and studying to pull that one off!

Day 29: Something You Wonder “What if…?” About

Ughh, this is a tough one for me. I’d love to say that I’m not one of those “What if…?” people, but I am. I wonder all the time: What if I hadn’t gone to JMU?; What if I’d played softball in high school?; What if I hadn’t lost touch with some of my closest friends from back home?; What if I had said this differently or done that differently?... the list goes on in on.

The most recent “What if…?” to weigh on my brain is, what if I hadn’t decided to study to become a teacher? What if I had majored in something else? This question has actually been driving me nuts. I did a little soul searching over the summer since I was in isolation here at JMU. I didn’t exactly like what I found out. The more I thought about teaching, the more I realized it may not be what I want to do. Don’t get me wrong, I love working with children and I love education, but I just don’t see myself teaching for the rest of my life. Of course, I don’t have to be a teacher for the rest of my life, but anyone that knows me knows that I’m dedicated to everything I do. Once I find something, I stick with it. There are so many other things I would like to do. I’m good at a lot of things, but it doesn’t necessarily mean I should make a career out of those things I’m good at.

Everyone knows I’m just a little obsessed with law enforcement. That stems from my strong sense of justice and right vs. wrong. I can say for sure that I know I do not want to be a police officer. So for those that always say that I should be, get it out of your mind! Yes, I could see myself working in some law enforcement field, but not as a cop. Actually, one of my bigger what if’s is: What if I had studied Justice Studies instead of Education? Good question…

So now I’m at the point where I’ve been in school for going on 5 years for Elementary Education, and now I don’t even know if it’s what I want to do. I could totally see myself doing outreach type things and working with communities. Girl Scouts and working at JMU prepared me for that. Then I have other people that know how much I love JMU and all of Harrisonburg’s quirks telling me I should stick around some more. I just don’t see Student Affairs as my sort of thing though, even though I absolutely adore my time in ORL.

So, I don’t know what I’m going to do or where I’ll be this time next year. Only time will tell I guess! In the meantime, I’ve thought of a good solution. I need to find and marry a really rich guy so that I can do whatever I want and don’t have to worry about money. Seems like a simple enough solution, right?! LOL!

Day 30: A Picture of Yourself This Day and 5 Highs/Lows That Happened Since You Started The Challenge

Highs:

1) I started my Hall Director position with ORL for the 2011-2012 school year, and I’m working with an awesome staff of Bluestone HDs.

2) Having Taylor come hangout with me and participating in an abbreviated Harry Potter Dance Party (It wasn’t the same without Nikki, but we had fun!)

3) Scheduling my Police Ride-Along and getting assigned for the same weekend as the first home football game (Thank You Lt. Baker!)

4) Reconnecting with some old friends I hadn’t spoken to in a while

5) Enjoying late night strolls around the Quad during the summer (it’s very different than during the school year).

Lows:

1) Losing more of PH’s Class of 2007.

2) Realizing that stupid IDLS classes brought down my GPA, but I still graduated with Honors!

3) Finding out my student teaching placement is an hour away at some huge school that I probably won’t like.

4) Figuring out the 18 Graduate Credits in one semester is going to really suck.

5) Saying goodbye to Amy when she left to go to Florida. L

Dear Blog, I'm Sorry

Dear Blog,

I'm sorry I haven't posted in a really, really long time. I hope you can forgive me. I got a little busy there for a while. I promise to do better. I've set some time aside on Tuesday to work on posting the conclusion of my 30 day challenge, as well as to write about a few other things.

Thanks,
Robin

Days 18-24... Yeah, I disappeared for a little bit!

So I'm posting Days 18-24 today. Yes, I did go on a bit of a hiatus there for a little bit. I was extremely busy visiting with friends and family and going to a million doctors appointments before my summer came to an end. Plus, I had to close out Hoffman for the summer too.

So here we go with all the posts I missed!

Day 18- Describe the Best Day You’ve Had in the Past Year

Like I said on Day 17, Day 18 goes right along with it, so here comes Ride-Along Epicness continued:

            As soon as we left the Drunk in Public call at the Godwin Bus Stop, we had another Drunk in Public call at the Godwin Bus Stop. The group consisting of 2 males and a female were on the move, but we finally caught up with them outside of Market One and behind Wilson Hall. Sgt. Jones and Sgt. Biller got out to talk to the group. Taylor and I stayed in the SUV with the windows down because we didn’t think anything was going to happen. Boy were we wrong! The officers asked if the group were JMU students and they all said no. Then Sgt. Jones asked where they were headed, and the girl was like, “Oh, I’m a JMU student and the guys go to Bridgewater College and we are going to my dorm.” Well at about the same time, the officers asked for IDs and also asked if the group had been drinking tonight. At about that time, a third officer pulled up behind our SUV. One of the BC guys decided he didn’t want to answer the drinking question and decided to bolt. Well, he plowed right into a Campus Cadet and Taylor & I’s vehicle and the cadet immediately pushed the idiot to the ground. The 3 officers tackled and cuffed the guy while the two friends stood staring at what had just happened. I then said to Taylor that I was glad we stayed in the car because we had front row seats. And then began our adventure to jail.

            Sgt. Biller was the arresting officer, but since we were riding with him, Sgt. Jones took the guy to jail in his vehicle as we followed. Taylor & I entered jail and Sgt. Biller just kind of left us standing there and we didn’t know where to go. We found a safe place against a wall that seemed like it was out of the way. Within less than five minutes of being in jail, we were flashed… a lot. Fun times. There was a REALLY DRUNK JMU student there that was hunched over in his chair. We kept yelling for Cory. “Corrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyyy!” LOL! Our guy was patted down, and then the dummy decided he would try to kick the 300 pound jailer (He was so drunk he could barely get his foot off the ground). He was immediately tackled next to Taylor and I’s feet by like five people and taken to a cell. He kept shouting, “Whatda I do?!” Meanwhile, I couldn’t take my eyes off the really drunk JMU student slumped over. I told Taylor that the dude was going to hit the ground any minute. Sure enough, not two minutes later, the guy went head first into the cement. As jailers rushed over, the guy started to fight with them and kept yelling, “Stop yo!” The dude fought so much, he finally passed out and then peed himself. This all was very amusing, but Taylor and I didn’t laugh in jail… we just laughed A LOT about it later. The nurse checked the guy out, and the jail called for an ambulance to come get the guy. No one really talked to Taylor and I in jail. Finally, after being there for like an hour against our 2 feet of wall we picked out, two HPD officers were like, “What are you here for?” We told them about our ride-along, and one of the undercover officers pointed to our JMU drunk guy and was like, “Don’t do drugs!” HAHA! While in jail, we saw Officer Mills and the whiney drunk girl from the Godwin bus stop. Our guy was taking a long time to get processed because Sgt. Biller couldn’t find the guy in the system and it didn’t help that he was an out-of-state resident. Since Officer Mills was finished at the jail, Sgt. Biller had him take Taylor and I since we had been there for an hour and a half.

            Officer Mills was super excited to drive Taylor and I around. He was like, “I feel like I’m driving Miss Daisy!” Officer Mills is super chatty, so we were highly entertained considering it was nearly 2am. As we started our drive from Downtown back to JMU, a call came in for a drunk in public at the intersection of Carrier & Bluestone. We were the last to arrive by a lot. The fire department and ambulance were already on scene because the guy was really drunk. However, we wasn’t drunk enough to not go straight to jail, so that’s where he was taken by the responding officer. The next couple of calls were all really lame. Mostly drunk in publics that didn’t amount to anything. We backed up an officer for a call from two guys that claimed they had been jumped by two other guys and one guy’s wallet was stolen. Our assistance wasn’t really needed, so we were on our way driving around campus.

            As it started getting closer to 2:30am, lots of calls started coming in. RAs would be on their last duty tour around this time, and we always find stuff then. A call came in for Shenandoah Hall. A girl had thrown up in the hallway bathroom, then tripped in her puke and hit her head on the bathroom stall. She then ignored RAs and stumbled back to her room where she locked the door. It was just us and Officer Mills on this call. I checked out the bathroom and couldn’t believe how much the girl had puked. I was like, “There can’t be that much left in her because I think she puked a whole bowl of jungle juice!” Officer Mills banged on the girl’s door and Taylor and I started knocking on surrounding doors to see if anyone knew anything about the girl. No one answered Officer Mill’s knocks, so we keyed into the room to find the girl passed out on her carpet. She finally came to, and she stood up as solid as a statue. She carried a conversation and everything. If it wasn’t for the fact that she was really confused and also had puke on her shirt and pants, you wouldn’t have known she was drunk. Officer Mills gave the girl the choice of going to the hospital or jail. She said neither. Since she became more lucid as the conversation continued, Officer Mills left her in the care of a responsible adult. Even though the girl wasn’t going to jail, she was still going to have to face judicial charges.

            Our last call of the evening was to White Hall. A Frat boy had been dropped off at the wrong dorm and he was really confused. The RAs had found the guy trying to swipe into C-Section with his hand. The guy then puked right in front of the door. Needless to say, the guy ended up being arrested. We drove around for a bit more and then finally headed back to the PD, where Taylor and I said our goodbyes to all our police friends!

Day 19- Something You Are Looking Forward To

            As my past two posts have mentioned, my police ride-along that Taylor and I did was so much fun. We learned a lot about things we had never even thought about. Plus, for a non-busy night, it was pretty epic.

            So the something I’m looking forward to is 9/10/11. That’s when my next police ride-along is scheduled for. All the officers said that Taylor and I needed to check out the fall semester especially during the first few weeks of school. It should be a lot of fun since there is a home football game that day. It will definitely be interesting! Can’t wait!

Day 20- 20 of Your Favorite Things

            Yen Ching Chinese Food, Willy Wonka candy, Disney, Colorado, horses, cats, pickup trucks, photography, spending time with friends, hanging with the family, swimming, Parks & Rec Summers, Stump Elementary School in Stuarts Draft, Hanover County, Slurpees, Kline’s ice cream, El Charro, ORL, clean sheet feeling, and adrenaline rushes.

Day 21- A Place You’ve Traveled To and Where Else You Want to Travel

            I’ve been to a bunch of different places in the United States, but my favorite place was probably Pagosa Springs, Colorado. It was amazingly beautiful out there. Internationally, I’ve only ever been to England, and I’d totally go back there. Two places I really want to travel to are New Zealand and Australia. I’d also really love to go to the Galapagos Islands.

Day 22- What’s in Your Purse?

            A bunch of stuff. Wallet, keys, checkbook, second wallet (don’t know why), eye glasses case, sunglasses, phone, tissues, lip balm, 2 pens, 1 pencil, small notebook, cough drops, contacts case, and lots of random business cards and scraps of paper. Nothing too exciting!

Day 23- Where Would You Like to Be in 10 Years

            I’d like to have a lot of my goals in life accomplished in 10 years. I want to graduate again and finally have my Masters, get a job in the field of education, find the one person I want to spend the rest of my life with, buy a home, have kids, and settle down somewhere that isn’t the city.

Day 24- Who is Your Hero

            I throw around the word “hero” a lot. But, I’d have to say that my hero is Walker Texas Ranger. Chuck Norris rocks! LOL!

Day 17- Epicness

Day 17- Talk About One of Your Favorite Memories

For today's post, I decided to talk about my JMU Police Ride-Along Epicness! I've decided to tell half the story today, and the other half of the story tomorrow since tomorrow's topic also goes along with ride-along.

            Taylor and I began our ride-along at 9pm. Pretty much every officer was working that weekend because weekends in April tend to have the threat of block parties in the forecast. Luckily, April 2011 was much quieter and calmer than April 2010. When we got to the PD, Sgt. Biller met us. We spent the first 45 minutes of our ride-along in the police station watching a baseball game on TV while some of the officers were eating… so thrilling. Around 10pm though, we finally hit the streets!

            It was very quiet for the longest time. We drove through campus, and neither Taylor nor I were talking because we didn’t know what to talk about or if we should talk. Sgt. Biller decided to take us around off-campus, but just as we were about to make the turn to go off-campus, a call came over the radio for a suspicious drug odor (aka marijuana) in Logan Hall. Well since Amy was the HD there at the time, I was like, WE HAVE TO GO! So, Sgt. Biller made a big turn in the middle of the road and we were off to Logan Hall. We were the last of 3 officers to get there though! We all went in together, & I got to see Amy, who looked less than pleased about the incident. The building smelt funky on the first floor, but it wasn’t until we went to the second floor that it reeked. The officers were asking Taylor and I where we thought it was coming from and such (it was nice to be included), and since Taylor & I practically bust people for pot as a pastime, we had no trouble zeroing in on a room. BUT, of course, no one was there. So nothing became of the situation. As we were leaving, Sgt. Biller needed to take his break, so he passed us off to one of our favorite officers, Sgt. Jones.

            Our ride with Sgt. Jones was very informative. We were talking a lot more at this point, and joking about incidents past. Sgt. Jones drove us along the perimeter of JMU’s jurisdiction, and Taylor & I got to see some super sketch back roads that made me question whether we were even on a road at some points! We headed back to campus, and that’s when a call for a suspicious drug odor in Eagle Hall came over the radio. We headed to the Lake Area and met up with Officer Mills (another fav of Taylor & I). I lived in Eagle my freshman year and hadn’t been in there in years, so I led the way to this incident. We met two of the RAs on the second floor, and it did not smell like pot anywhere. As soon as I opened the wing door however, I could hear the definite sounds of people partying in a room. The officers’ jobs were done, but we stayed for support. I motioned for the RAs to come knock on the room door. Both RAs were first year RAs, and even though it was April, you could tell they were still very nervous about confronting. I knocked on the door, and after several minutes of shuffling around, a resident finally opened the door. Once we asked to come in the room, the resident started babbling about how their roommate wasn’t there, and the girl RA was like, “I didn’t ask about your roommate.” Meanwhile, Officer Mills was trying to get Taylor to go in the room & Taylor was like, “No thanks, I deal with this all the time!” So meanwhile, the second Eagle RA was still standing in the hallway, so I was like come in and be this girl’s backup. They talked with the residents, but didn’t find the alcohol (it was in the closet the entire time which Taylor & I later informed the RAs of). So, as we were leaving, I told the residents of the room that I highly suggested they leave Eagle… which they did. So, as we were leaving Eagle, the two RAs informed the officers and Taylor & I that they didn’t know what marijuana smelt like. This led to like a 20 minute educational conversation about weed.

            Once we left Eagle and our newly educated Eagle RAs, we drove around for a little bit, and then Sgt. Jones met up with Sgt. Biller to give us back, and we once again were riding with Sgt. Biller. We finally got to drive off campus, but there was like nothing going on. We soon got an emergency call for alcohol poisoning outside on the sidewalk in front of MGL. I’m going to skip talking about this incident because the girl was really bad off and is lucky to be alive, and an RA really messed up and it just makes me mad to think about. As the head Campus Cadet put it, “How f***ing irresponsible of the RA!”

            Next, we headed to a call at the Godwin bus stop for a drunk in public. Well, there was a girl that was very drunk in public with her three friends. The girls were ridiculous: screaming, shouting, crying… and the entire time Taylor & I were just laughing because they had no idea that their one friend was totally going to be arrested. Officer Mills was the responding officer & we were just back up. Mills gave the girl a breathalyzer and she blew a .25…. yeah not drunk at all! LOL! Needless to say, she was placed under arrest. Her friends went ballistic and started crying and yelling some more. They were like, “Can we go with her?” And the Campus Cadet said under his breath, “You don’t wanna go where she’s going!” & of course Taylor & I started cracking up even more. Well the three bimbos were interfering, so Officer Mills had to be like, “There’s plenty more room in the backseat for more of you!”

Day 16- Reflecting Time

Day 16- A Picture of You From Last Year, and How Have You Changed?

This is a picture taken of me last Christmas.

How have I changed in the last year? That's a tough question to answer. Well, my hair is different now! I think I have definitely learned a lot more about myself as a person, and also the type of person I want to be. Lately, I've been getting back into community service type work, and I realized how happy that makes me. If only I could find someone rich to marry so that I didn't have to work... I could volunteer everyday then!

I think I was also challenged a lot more during my Senior Year of college. I had to learn to survive college without my BFF and meal pal, Susan! I still had Amy to keep me sane though! Plus, missing Susan helped me become better friends with Nikki, Taylor, and Jessie... the start of a wonderful "moms" relationship. I survived a lot of ORL staff drama. I'm use to drama, but this past year's drama seemed extra special, and I guess since I'm older, extra annoying. I dealt with some incidents in the building that I never thought I would have to deal with. More "Tools in the Toolbox" as my old HD, Cover, would say.

In the fall, I fell in love with 3rd Grade at Guy K. Stump Elementary School - my practicum placement! I worked next to some of the most amazing teachers and students! Gosh, LOVE THEM! So going to miss that school! In the spring, I faced what it was like to be out of the classroom for the first time in over a year (IT WAS AWFUL!). I've probably never been so depressed as I was this past spring semester. My IDLS classes were awful, pointless, and kind of hard. My GPA took a hit (well... a hit for me- I still made the Dean's List this past semester & was well above the GPA mark for graduating with Honors). It just sucked, and I basically hated my life until the wonderful date of April 1, 2011 came around!!!...

So on April 1, 2011, an event happened that was 3 years in the making... My police ride-along!!! This was the one thing other than graduation that Taylor and I had to look forward to this past semester. I was like a kid on Christmas the morning on April 1st, and I just couldn't wait for 9pm to arrive! And when it did, it was EPIC. Possibly, the best night of my life! I couldn't believe I had never done a police ride-along before that! More to come on that tomorrow... 

Day 15- Half Way To The Finish!

Day 15- Your Current Relationship Status, and If Single, Discuss How Single Life Is

Current relationship status- single. How is single life? Hmmmm...I don’t give it much thought. I guess it stinks, but then again, when I look at other people that struggle with relationships it makes me happy I’m not in one. I guess sometimes I get lonely, BUT considering how independent I am, I usually hardly notice that I’m single. Plus, I think Amy has probably proposed marriage to me twice in the past year! LOL!

But for reals, I’d like to not be single anymore. I’ve had the occasional special person in my life, but it’d be nice to have someone now. Now that I’m in Grad School, I feel like I’m entering a new phase in my life, and I’m ready for change. I want to share the next part of my life with someone. I think my problem is that I always fall for people that are unavailable, emotionally or otherwise. No worries though, you get over it and move on. Emotionally, I’m not a very complicated person... I’m pretty famous for telling people like it is! I also have unbelievable self control and can bite my tongue when needed. I’m also pretty good at keeping everything bottled up inside (healthy, right?!), but the difference between me and everyone else is that I can function just fine and can seem normal when I do that!

Day 13 & Day 14- Better Late Than Never

Day 13- Your Day in Detail

Okay, so my day in great detail is going to be Saturday, July 23, 2011. As you’ll see Harrisonburg is so thrilling during the summer. My Saturday started really early before I ever got to bed on Friday…

·         2:05am- Phone call from one of my RAs about an incident in the building. I didn’t even have to get out of bed for this one though because I knew who had done what with just being told a room number. That’s when you know you’re good at what you do!

·         Went to bed listening to some country music. Woke up around 8:30am.

·         Texted with Amy because her parents were coming up to visit on Saturday.

·         9:30am- Received a phone call from the weekend on-call person so that we could discuss another incident that had happened on Friday evening (my residents keep me busy).

·         10:00am- Took a shower and then edited/submitted incident reports from all the stuff that happened on Friday night.

·         11:00am- Went over to Amy’s and met up with her parents and the dogs. Amy’s mom stayed behind at Amy’s with the puppies and we went with her dad to go pick up Amy’s new furniture! We went to a warehouse in the middle of nowhere to pick up the furniture so that was an interesting adventure.

·         After getting the furniture, we came back to campus to pick up Amy’s mom and then the four of us went to lunch a Chili’s and had dessert at Sweet Bee’s.

·         Returned to campus and Amy and I took the dogs to go visit the Conference Service people while Amy’s parents stayed at her place.

·         2:45ish- Said our goodbyes to Amy’s parents and then hung out in her apartment for a little bit to cool off in the AC. Then we headed out to the glorious Valley Mall! LOL! Did some window shopping, and also went shopping at Old Navy so Amy could finish off her gift card.

·         Went to Regal to see the 4:10pm showing of “Friends With Benefits.”

·         7:00pm-ish- Returned to campus, and Amy & I parted ways. I went and did some more I-Doc writing, and then went to follow up with a bunch of residents that were involved in incidents.

·         7:45pm- Turned on the TV only to discover there was nothing on. Thought about cleaning and organizing my room, but I was in a bad mood, so instead…

·         8:13pm- I called my mom because I hadn’t spoken to her in FOREVER. Our conversation was 80 minutes, 47 seconds!!!

·         9:35pm- After getting off the phone with my mom, I was ready to go to bed. I haven’t been getting a lot of sleep lately, so I thought this was a great idea. However, I picked up my iPod Shuffle and started reading a book I have on there… Didn’t end up going to bed until like 2:00am.

Day 14- A Photo of Your City

I chose my current city, Harrisonburg, VA. Beautiful, yet boring during the summer!

Day 12- Home Sweet Home

Day 12- A Picture of Your Home

Well, I have two homes. My home home, and then my JMU home. Picture #1 is my home home out in the country back at Christmas last year, and Picture #2 is my current JMU residence hall home!

Day 11: And I Quote!

Day 11: A Quote You Love

Okay, so I'm super obsessed with quotes. Like a lot. I'd say collecting quotes is probably one of my hobbies! My collection ranges in quotes from Dr. Seuss to Walt Disney to politicians to my very own JMU professors.

Here are probably five of my favorite quotes:

1) "Stuff happens. It is your response that counts."

2) "What Goes Around, Comes Around."

3) "Everything In Moderation"
-Robin Brown and Dana Thompson

4) "Stand up for what is right, even if you are standing alone."

5) "Should everyone have the same assumptions? No, because then the world would be a boring place. Should we be conscious of our assumptions? Yes, or else the world would be a dangerous place.”
-Dr. Brubaker

Day 10- Woot Woot, I made it to double digits!

Day 10- A Photo You Took of Something

This is like the most generic topic ever. Hmmm... I've taken tons and tons of pictures, so it's hard to pick just one. I decided on the picture below because it makes me laugh every time I see it. This is a picture of my cousins' old horse, Rowdy, from when they lived in Tennessee. I caught him with his tongue sticking out!

Days 8 & 9- I'm Exhausted and Got Behind!

Day 8- Your Views on Religion

Ughhh... Who came up with these topics?! Religion... my view is that it exists. You got to believe in something or you’ll fall for anything, right? I don't push my views on other people, and I don't like it when other people try to push their views on me. I don’t know. Those that know me, know that I’m not very religious. I went to a Christian preschool, and I also attended a wonderful Baptist church when I was little. I even sang in the choir. Then, I got older. We just stopped going. I definitely knew a ton of Bible stories and all when I was little, but I only know the major ones now. About the only time I go to church now is for the Hanging of the Greens at Christmas because I’m a suck for Christmas carols! Doesn’t bother me too much though. My religion now is living by the Golden Rule. I try to be a good person, make good choices, and make the world a better place. Live by the Girl Scout Law! Heck yes!


Day 9- Your Zodiac Sign & If You Think It Fits Your Personality

I’m a Libra! Yes, it fits my personality. Libra is ruled by the planet, Venus. Venus is my favorite planet after the one we are on! Libras are charismatic (I have my moments), diplomatic, idealistic (I’m realistic), and logical, which enables them to get along will with a wide variety of people. Libras are the diplomats of the zodiac. They are charming, easy going (DEFINITELY ME!), and willing to suppress their own needs and opinions in order to preserve good relations (While I may do this, I still look out for #1!). Libras are just (Absolutely me!), reasonable, nonjudgmental (ehhh, I try not to judge, but I'll tell you if I am judging you!), and able to see both sides of an issue (This is why I was a good RA and will be a good HD...I hear everyone out). As a result, they are often asked to intervene in disagreements between friends, family members, and coworkers. Arguments often make Libras miserable. YUP... I think all that describes me in one way or another! As Taylor would say, this topic is “CHECK & DONE!”

Day 7- Listen to the Music!!!

Day 7: Put Your iPod on Shuffle and Write 10 Songs that Pop Up

1. “Tied Together With a Smile” by Taylor Swift
2. “You Don’t Know What Love Is” by Lonestar
3. “Long Trip Alone” by Dierks Bentley
4. “I’m From The Country” by Tracy Byrd
5. “Perfect” by Simple Plan
6. “The Remedy” by Jason Mraz
7.  “Carrying Your Love With Me” by George Strait
8. “One Day” by Simple Plan
9. “Don’t Take The Girl” by Tim McGraw
10. “Stay With You” by The Goo Goo Dolls

I’m impressed Simple Plan and The Goo Goo Dolls were able to make it in there with all that country music! And my homeboy Jason Mraz made it in there! Haha!

Day 6- Celeb Crushes Day

Day 6- Five Celebrity Crushes

Ok, so it took me a while to think about this. Number 1 on the list was super easy because I have been, and will always be, in love with James McAvoy. The others took some thought. Don't consider this my Top 5 list, this is just a general list of five celebrity crushes.

1. James McAvoy

2. Matt Long

  

3. Milo Ventimiglia

 4. Matt Marraccini

5. Jensen Ackles

Day 5- A Depressing Topic Today

Day 5- A Time When You Thought About Ending Your Own Life

REALLY?! WHO CAME UP WITH THESE TOPICS? Talk about depressing. I need to find better 30-day challenge topics. Well, I have never thought about ending my own life. I have a very strong sense of survival, self-preservation, and a super irrational fear of death, so ending my life would be very counterproductive to all of those. I do think however, other people have thought about ending my life. As Taylor and I would say all the time our senior year of college, we were probably the most despised people on campus. We received the glares of death all the time. Oh well! We were told that there was nothing wrong with that. Plus, we had the JMU PD to back us up if we needed them! J

In all seriousness, I can't imagine ever feeling so bad that I thought killing myself was the only solution. Unfortunately, in my time working with ORL, I've dealth with more people wanting/attempting suicide then I ever care to think about. Dealing with those sorts of situations brings a whole new meaning to crisis management. I would never wish anyone to be in some of the situations I have been in. As an RA, confronting something like that can be very difficult. It's almost even more difficult to come to terms with the fact that you saved someone's life. That probably sounds crazy. To me, I think, "I was just doing my job." But, in some of the situations I have been in, I have wondered, "What if I hadn't been there?"  "What if I hadn't walked into the bathroom at that very moment?" The "what ifs" can be very taunting on your brain. I like to think that everything happens for a reason, and those perfect timings aren't coincident.

Day 4 is another Picture Day!

Day 4- A Photo that Makes You Happy & A Photo that Makes You Angry or Sad

Well, I'll start off with two photos that make me happy! They are both of Kitty Cat!


A photo that makes me happy is definitely my baby Kitty Cat! She's not a baby anymore though... over 10 years together.



The reason I can never make the bed!



I decided to go with a series of photos that make me angry and sad. This is where my post from Day 3 about my views on alcohol and drugs come in.

Picture 1 of the photos that make me angry: No, your eyes do not deceive you. Yes the grass is green, BUT packed inside that Mason Jar is marijuana. This is what was hurled at my head from a third story window on Springfest Weekend 2010.





Pictures 1-3 of the photos that make me angry/sad represent the weekend where I only got 2 hours of sleep over a 3 day period. This is the weekend where I wrote more incident documentations then most RAs write in an entire year. It was absolutely one of the worst weekends of my life. This was the weekend where I felt ashamed to a associated with JMU. This is the weekend where I have never seen so many Virginia State Police in one place, or police in general, in my lifetime. This is the weekend where people were tear-gased, helicopters circled, and JMU was not at its best. I'm thankful that so many improvements to JMU's "alcohol culture" have been made in the past year though. AND, one good thing did come out of that weekend for me... Taylor & I had some super ORL-related bonding time and that is probably why we were such kick-ass RAs during our Senior Year! Only certain people really understand what Springfest Weekend was like for an RA. So, that is why these pictures make me very angry and sad.

Day 3- A Day Early

So... tomorrow is a very busy day for me. I have a planning meeting tomorrow for the TECHfacturing Camp that I'm working at next week. We are going to get a run down of the job, plan a few activities, and then go tour the White Wave manufacturing plant in Bridgewater. Fun Stuff. Then, I'm going over to my sister's house to join in the Harry Potter-a-thon Part 2. I'll probably have dinner with her, and then who knows what the rest of the evening will have in store. So, since there is no telling when I'll get to a computer again, I decided it was best to go ahead and post Day 3 of the 30 Day Challenge. Also, Day 3's topic is a good preface for Day 4's topic.

So...

Day 3: Your Views on Drugs and Alcohol

Well, I’m pretty much an expert when it comes to drugs and alcohol. This is a great question for someone that is a Hall Director! So, I’m not sure what views I’m supposed to have here. I believe strongly in everything in moderation... legal moderation. Is that clear enough?

I can say that thanks to three years as an RA in the largest Freshman residence hall on campus and now as a Hall Director, I despise the smell of cheap beer. The smell of Natty Light or Keystone basically makes me want to vomit, and I think anyone drinking Aristocrat in the dorm should hang their head down in shame. I mean... have some class! I really try not to judge though because people do what they want.

As far as drugs, I view marijuana the most. Haha, well it asked about my views on drugs! I hate marijuana. It's just a big headache for me...literally. I can smell it from a mile away, and I’m pretty sure I’m allergic because my throat gets all itchy when I smell it. Plus, during that wonderful Springfest weekend back in 2010, I had a Mason Jar full of pot hurled at my head. A girl remembers those sorts of things. That was a very traumatic weekend for me, and probably one of the few times when I've actually seriously considering beating someone up. Yup, great memories there. So, to be completely honest, nothing makes my happier than seeing someone get criminally charged with possession of marijuana. Also, I have no sympathy for people that get arrested for drunk in public. The most emotion I can muster up is a "That sucks for you." I'll have to share some stories from Taylor and I's epic police ride-along one day for you all to really understand!

Day 2 of the 30 Day Challenge!

Day 2: A Photo Taken Over 10 Years Ago of You

So for this Day 2 Challenge, I decided to pick out a couple different pictures from when I was really little. These pictures were all taken in our old house before our family moved to Hanover County.



Me, my big sister, and my dad back at our old house that I hardly remember!



Good times... oh the 80's!



This is one of my favorite pictures of Lesley & me! Proves we love each other! haha! Plus, my extra sister when I was little, Stevie, was there too for Lesley's Field Day!

 

I loved that Army Jeep so much! I put a ton of miles on that thing! Best toy ever!!!

 

Just me and my sister! 7 years apart, but we managed to not kill each other!



Let the 30 Day Challenge Begin

So I recently decided to embark on one of those 30 Day Challenges in order to inspire me to keep writing on my blog. I saw that one of my future RAs also has a blog, and he's starting a 30 Day Challenge--so I guess I may have stolen the idea from him! I figure if I write everyday, I'll be more likely to write on my blog once school starts. Of course, I wasn't satisfied with the 30 Day Challenges I found, so I took it upon myself to recreate my own 30 Day Challenge from a compilation of different lists.

So here comes DAY 1 of my 30 Day Challenge:

Day 1: Post a recent picture of yourself, and write 30 interesting facts.

Picture:

This picture is from this past spring's ORL RecCel! That's me on the far right... and those other lovely ladies and myself made up the staff "moms" this past school year! We all helped to keep each other sane, and I'm going to miss them all like crazy so that is why they have to come visit me all the time.

30 Interesting Facts:

1. I’m from the country!

2. I love country music.

3. I would live in the country forever if I could.

4. Blue and purple are my favorite colors.

5. My cat, Kitty Cat, is the one living thing I cherish more than myself.

6. I love animals!

7. I HATE BUGS!

8. I REALLY HATE SPIDERS!... I was bit in the face by one my senior year of high school and now I have a phobia.

9. I want to be a teacher.

10. I want to be a 3^rd grade teacher.

11. I want to be a 3^rd grade teacher in Stuarts Draft.

12. I want to be a 3^rd grade teacher at Stump in Stuarts Draft.

13. If I cannot be 10-12 above, I would like to be a teacher in Hanover or Henrico County.

14. My sister, Lesley, has been my saving grace for the past few years while I’ve been in college.

15. I would love to read more, but I just love movies way better.

16. I have a super active imagination.

17. I’m pretty sure I was a cop in a previous life.

18. I don’t have a desire to be a cop, so I live vicariously through my police officer friends.

19. My friends are all pretty positive I'll marry a police officer.

20. I earned both the Girl Scout Silver Award and Girl Scout Gold Award.

21. I talk to myself out loud when I’m alone.

22. I’m super close with my mom.

23. My dad’s side of the family is way cooler than my mom’s side of the family, so I like hanging out with them more!

24. My grandparents on my mom’s side are the absolute best and I wish they didn’t live all the way in Mississippi.

25. My favorite movie is any Robin Hood movie.

26. I’m obsessed with all things Disney!

27. I’m in love with Tim McGraw’s voice...and Tim McGraw.

28. I wished I owned horses and could go horseback riding every day.

29. My favorite vacations are always visiting my dad’s cousins, Jim & Patty, no matter what state they are living in at the time.

30. I have a huge fear of failure. Lately, I’ve been thinking that maybe teaching isn’t what I want to do for the rest of my life, and that feeling scares the crap out of me. More to come on that topic another day though.

Why in the World Am I Starting a Blog?!

So... first post!

It's no secret I hate to write. Like, I REALLY, REALLY hate to write. I have always dreaded writing assignments. About the only thing I'm good at writing are incident reports for my Res Life job. I'm pretty much a professional at writing in the third person now. I also write pretty freaking awesome fictitious I-Docs, so I guess I'm pretty good at creative writing type things on occasion. For example, last August, I was really bored one day during RA Training. I decided to write up Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck for fun. Did you know that Daisy is a raging alcoholic? Yup... she is! One night, Donald dumped her, and Daisy hit the bottle pretty hard with Minnie in the dorm. There was some beer pong involved too. Best fake I-Doc ever!! Don't judge me, when you sit through the same training session a third year in a row, you have to find ways to entertain your brain. Don't get me wrong, I love RA Training... it just gets really bad when you can give the presentation word-for-word to yourself in your head!

So, you ask, "Why start a blog then?" Well, good question. I really don't have any answer other than I just want to give it a shot. I mean, why not?! Why not start something that I'm bound to neglect within less than a month?! LOL! I'm hoping this lasts more than a month, but I'm trying to be realistic. I'm not sure if I'm 100% invested in this little project I've started or not.

The guess the main reason I wanted to start this blog is to have a place to write down my memories of student teaching and being a Hall Director this year while in Grad School. I know I'm going to be super, super, super busy though. I feel like every moment of free time I have will NOT be spent posting on my blog. BUT, then again, you never know! I've decided that since I despise writing so much, this will be a part written blog and part picture blog. This also will not be a post something every single day blog. I'll be lucky to get something up here once a week. So, if you feel like reading my ramblings and seeing what I see through my camera lens, then follow me! Feel free to leave comments and topic suggestions. Ask me random questions. I'm pretty much an open book, and there's pretty much nothing I won't share my opinion about.

Oh, and if you are wondering about the title of my blog, The Screaming Backpack... I'll explain it. So, it's super hard to come up with a blog title... especially, when you are not creative. So, I turned to my Facebook peeps to help me out, and well, not so helpful.

Here were some suggestions I got:

• Robin's Blog - Yeah Dave, super creative. I almost titled it this though because I like things that are to the point.
• A picture a day and what the teacher has to say - Ok, so my Program Adviser, Carolyn, from back when I first started as an RA came up with this one. I LOVED IT! Carolyn's pretty awesome and is super creative, so it totally makes sense that she would come up with a super cool title. I just couldn't commit to the picture a day thing. haha!
• Teacher Travels - This title was thought up by my friend Sheri that I've known since high school. The only problem with this title was that I don't do much traveling anywhere. The only place I'll be going the next year is up and down I-81 to my practicum school.
• Sit Down and Be Quiet - This suggestion came from my aunt Sue! She's a super cool and totally groovy person! I liked this title, but one title just kept catching my attention...

The Screaming Backpack: Unique? CHECK!  Creative? CHECK! Catchy? I guess so...CHECK!
"The Screaming Backpack" was a collaborative effort. I was trying to think of something that dealt with school stuff, but that also had a ring to it. I won't lie... Dora The Explorer may have been some inspiration. Dora was singing that annoyingly catchy "Backpack, Backpack" song on TV, and I was like, "If I were her backpack, I'd yell at her for always being so darn needy!" My friend, was like, "Yeah, a screaming backpack." And so the title of my blog was born. Also, this title works perfect because I used to always say that my backpack was mad at me when I overloaded it with books. I've had the same L.L. Bean backpack since sixth grade, and the thing makes a funny squeaking noise if I put a bunch of stuff in it. haha! This title also works because kids scream and kids wear backpacks. How could I pass up such a good title?!

So there you have it. My first post, with lots of ramblings, complete!